Last



Oct. 20,1936.

5. T; HENNESSY.

LAST

Filed Sept. 5, 1955 INVENTOR. fig/22m TWWZ/wsy ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 20, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT i OFFICE LAST.

Stephen T. Hennessy, St. Louis, Mo.

Application September 3, 1935, Serial. No. 38,909

12' Claims;

This invention relates to lasts for making shoes, boots: and. similar articles of footwear. and, my present last is a; distinct and practical improvement to overcome certain practical objections to, and defects in my lastconstruction shown U. S..Letters; Patent #151920 1 andin other lasts as now universally used in shoe factories.

object of the invention is toprovid'e a last witha. metallic heel plate having a tubular post supported in suchfashion by the heel section of a last as to prevent the heel section. of a wooden last: from cracking, splitting, crushing, or otherwise becoming deformed. under the pressure of nailing machines, or other shoe. makingdev-ice, which has a tendency to materially shorten the life-of the present types. of- -wooden lasts now employedinshoe factories. j v An object: of the invention. resides in attaching the-metallic heel plate to the wooden heel section of. the; last insuch. a'fashion as to cause an edge thereof to'bite. into the wooden material to provide a tight joint between such elements. and thereby prevent lining and leather fragments from finding their way under the heel plate.

Another object; of the invention resides providing. the heel. plate and tubular post with a bracing wing, or wings and through anopening, or openings therein accommodate a. hinge pin also receivable in aligned openings in the heel section of the last.

A. further object of my invention is to provide a last which is. light in weight strong-and durable, highly e-fiicient for the purpose. designed and comparatively cheap in cost of manufacture. With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel features of construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter more fully described and .finally pointed out in the. claims hereto appended.

Referring to the accompanying drawing forming. apart. of this specification'wherein like characters. of reference denote similar parts through.- .out. the several views: 7

Fig. l is a. View partly in-sectional' elevation and partly in side elevation of a. last embodying the features of my invention.

Fig. .2 is a transverse verticalsectional' view of a part of. the heelsection of the last.

Fig.3 is.- a plan view}, partly. in section. of the heel section of..-the last showing one form of hinge member connection.

Fig. l-isa viewfsimiiar to Fig. 3 showing a modified. form of hinge member connection In the drawing, the reference character I designates a'member having a lastsupportingpin 2..

The reference character it designates" the: heel section of a wooden last; 4 designates the frontsection. of the; lastandi 5 designates a suitable hinge memberconnecting' two: last sections.

The heel section 3 of the last is provided with a suitable bore fi extending, from the curved face 1 to the flat face 8 thereof. A suitable tubular post like member 9: is frictionally insertable into the bore: 6 and one end of the tubularmemberis: provided with a suitable heel, plate H1; The tubu lar post 9 may have: outer face tapered and also, if desired-,the outer face of thepostqnray be provided with suitable projections I I; to prevent rotary displacement of the post. 9. relative to the heel section-30f the last. It alsoserves-to more. securely hold the post. against longitudinal displacement due to the frictional resistance that is set up between thepost and the: wall of the. bore in the heel section 3 :of the. last.

The. inner. marginal edge of. the heelbplate l 7 is slightly beveled, or flanged, as. at l2, so .as..to. provide apenetrating edgeH-l to bite into the .material of the heelseatsurface of. the last section 3v and to form a tight joint between the. biting. edge of the metal plate and the wooden heel section 3 of the last. This arrangement prevents fabric shoe lining and leather fragmentsfrom finding their way between the plate and heel sections of the last, and thereby overcomes a common nuisance now contended with when removing shoes from their lasts.

A suitable brace wing M, as. shown in Fig; 4,, or a pair of brace wings M, as shown in Fig. 3; connect. the front end portion of the metal heel plate ID with. the tubular post Sand serves to reinforce such structure. In the .case where the front last section 4 is connected to the heel section. 3 of a two piece wooden last by means of a suitable hinge connection 5,v the pin |5,, which connects the hinge member to the last section 3, passes through an opening IS in the brace-Wings M, or wings M", as well as in aligned openings [6 in the last section 3 and this serves to reinforce the rear hinge connection'and prevent the last from cracking, -or splitting adjacent the rear hinge. connection, and also serves as additional meansto prevent displacementof. the heel plate and. its post. relative. to the heel section 30f; the last. v v

f It will be noted that 'the tubular post -9 is provided with two bores designated. Hand 1 8'providing a suitable shoulder .l9 atthe juncture thereof. The bore of larger diameter and'greater length designated llserves to receive the p in ;2

on the support I for supporting the last in position. The bore l8 which is relatively smaller than bore I1 is employed for the purpose of permitting a suitable screw to be received therein when the last and the shoe thereon have been removed from the supporting pin 2. This screw (not shown), is adapted to be screwed into a suitable shoe heel positioned on the heel seat of the shoe for initially securing the shoe heel to the shoe prior to a final heel nailing operation.

It will be noted that the smaller bore l 8 isopen at its outer end to the heel plate Ill and the outer end of the bore I! is open to and flush with the face 8 of the heel section 3 of the last.

It will be observed that any pressure appliedto the heel plate In is transmitted through. the tubular post 9, thus it takes up the shock that would otherwise be transmitted directly to the wooden heel section 3 of the last. It will be observed that the free end face of the tubular post 9 lies flush with the face 8 of the heel section of the last.

It is to be understood that my invention is equally applicable to a one piece or block last.

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that I provide a heel section for a wooden last that will not be constantly breaking down under pressure of nailing machines and other shoe making devices by splitting of the wood and by its sagging out of shape, as the structure shown and described eliminates these weaknesses which. are found in the present last constructions.

The many advantages of the herein described invention will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art to which it appertainsl From the foregoing description, it isevident that a simple device for thiscpurpose has been disclosed, but it is to be understood that I do. not desire to restrict, or limit myself to the very details of the construction shown and described, which is merely illustrative, it being obvious that changes, not involving the exercise of invention, may be made without conflicting or departing from the spirit of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is: c. 1

1. In last construction, a heel section, a bore extending through said section, a tubular post receivable in said bore, .a heel plate on one end of the tubular post, a sharp marginal edge on the heel plate adapted to bite into the material of the heel section of the last to provide a tight joint therebetween.

2. In last construction, a heel section, a bore extending through said section, a tubular post receivable in said bore, a heel plate on one end of the tubular post, said heel plate having a sharp biting marginal edge adapted to embed itself into the material of the heel section of the last to provide a tight joint therebetween, and a brace wing having an opening therein connecting the front section of the heel plate, with the tubular post and a hinge pin carried by the last and receivable in said opening.

3. In last construction, a heel section, a bore extending through said section, a tubular post receivable in said bore, a heel plate on one end of the tubular post, said heel plate having a sharp biting marginal edge adapted to embed, itself into the material of the heel section of the last to provide a tight joint therebetween, spaced brace wings connecting the front section of the heel plate with the tubular post, and said brace wings having aligned openings therein adapted to receive a hinge pin for connecting one end of a hinge member to the heel section of the last.

4. In last construction, a heel section, a bore extending through said section, a tubular post receivable in said bore, a heel plate on one end of the tubular post, said heel plate having a biting marginal edge adapted to be embedded into the material of the heel section of the last, and said tubular post having bores of two diameters and the bore of smaller diameter being open to the outer face of the heel plate.

5. In last construction, a heel section, a bore extending through said section, a tubular post receivable in said bore, a heel plate on one end of the tubular post, said heel plate having a biting marginal edge adapted to be embedded into the material of the heel section of the last, said tubular post having bores of two diameters and the bore of smaller diameter being open to the outer face of the heel plate, and a plurality of projections formed on the outer face of the tubular post.

6. In a shoe last having a bore in the heel section thereof open to the top and heel seat sides thereof, a heel plate, a sharp marginal edge on the heel plate adapted to bite into the heel seat material of the heel section to provide a tight joint therebetween, a tubular post projecting from the heel plate, an internal shoulder within the tubular post, and a plurality of protuberances on the tubular post to anchor the post in the bore in the heel section.

7. In a shoe last having a bore in the heel section thereof open to the top and heel seat sides thereof, a heel plate, a marginal edge of the heel plate adapted to bite into the heel seat material of the heel section to provide a tight joint therebetween, a tubular post projecting from the heel plate and anchored in the bore in the heel section, and said tubular post having bores of two diameters with the outer end of the bore of smaller diameter being open to the outer face of the heel plate.

8. In a shoe last having a bore in the heel section thereof open to the top and heel seat sides thereof, a heel plate, a marginal edge of the heel plate adapted to bite into the heel seat material of the heel section to provide a tight joint therebetween, a tubular post projecting from the heel plate and anchored in the bore in the heel section, said tubular post having bores of two diameters with the outer end of the bore of smaller diameter being open to the outer face of the heel plate, and a brace rib connecting the front section of the heel plate with the tubular post.

9. In a wooden shoe last having a heel section and a front section hingedly connected by means of hinge connection, the heel section having a tapered bore therein, a metal heel plate, a marginal edge of said heel plate adapted to bite into the heel seat material of the heel section to provide a tight joint therebetween, a tapered tubular post projecting from the heel plate and anchored in the tapered bore in the heel section, said post having bores of two diameters with the bore of less diameter open at its outer end to the outer face of the heel plate, a rib connecting the front end of the heel plate with the tubular post, and said rib having an opening therein to receive a hinge pin connecting one end of the hinge connection to the heel section of the last.

10. The combination, with a two piece wooden hinged last, of a metallic plate covering the heel seat face of the heel section of the last, a tubular core integral with the plate and extending through a bore in said heel section of the last extending from the heel seat face thereof to the upper face thereof, a flanged edge on the heel plate adapted to bite into the face of the heel section of the last to prevent fragments of shoe materials finding their way under said plate, a rib connecting the tubular core with the front end portion of the heel plate, one end of a. last hinge connected to the heel section of the last by means of a pin, and said pin passing through an opening in the aforesaid rib.

11. In a last structure, a wooden heel section provided with a bore, a tubular metallic core of two. inner diameters to provide an internal shoulder receivable in said bore, a heel plate integral with one end of the core adapted to be seated on the heel seat face of the last, an edge of said plate being sharp to bite into the last material to provide a tight joint between the plate and the heel seat face of the last, means on the tubular metallic core to prevent displacement of the core and the heel plate relative to the heel section of the last, and said means including spaced metal brace members having aligned openings therein to receive a hinge pin carried by the heel section of the last.

12. A metallic reinforcing member for the wooden heel section of a shoe last comprising a heel shaped plate, a flanged edge on the heel shaped plate so shaped as to be capable of biting into the heel section of a last, a tubular post projecting from the inner face of the heel shaped plate, said post having bores of two diameters to provide a shoulder at the juncture thereof, the outer end of the bore of less diameter being open to the outer face of the heel shaped plate, and reinforcing means connecting the front section of the heel shaped plate with the tubular post.

STEPHEN T. HENNESSY. 

